Sin

Naked Before God

Leave a Comment / Jesus, Sin / By
fig leaves

My wife worked as a phlebotomist for a medical lab. Her job was to go to nursing homes and draw blood samples that doctors had ordered for their patients. She told me that she looked down a corridor one day while she was at one of these homes, and an elderly woman was walking towards her. The woman had on her blouse but had forgotten everything below her waist. Suddenly, my wife heard a nurse say, “Margaret, did you forget something!”

Unlike Margaret, Adam, after he sinned, knew he was naked. We learn this in Genesis 3:7, “Then the eyes of both [Adam and Eve] were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” 

Naked Before God

Adam and Eve tried to hide their sin, but they were found naked because they’d lost God’s holy covering. Moses, too, felt this pain, for the glory of God, which radiated from him after meeting with God, faded, leaving his face exposed to the people. We read:

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. –  Exodus 34:29

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. – 2 Corinthians 3:12-13

Adam and all his descendants have battled their loss of God’s perfect covering. From simple necklaces to elaborate robes, humanity has tried to hide this forfeiture. Still, people try to hide their sins from God. Our nakedness should be a reminder that sin causes God’s divine covering to be lost, leaving us exposed to God and the world.

Let Us Run

During this time of tumult and trouble that is ripping apart families and friends, neighbors and nations, we need to stop pretending that we’re ok. That’s what Adam and Eve did when they dressed in fig leaves. They were not “ok,” and neither are we. The sins of our nation are our sins. These sins in each of us are exposed to God. We cannot hide them. So let us run to our Father, confess our sins, and repent of our sins that God might remove them and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Let us pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)” 

I pray that none of us would be a “Margaret.” 

Image by truthseeker08 from Pixabay 

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Err on the Side of Mercy

Leave a Comment / Jesus, Mercy, Sin / By
couple talking while moving in new apartment

It took nearly 6,000 years for people to come up with the phrase, “passing the buck,” but it happened in the first marriage, ever! Sadly, (for me) it was the man who did it. Even worse, when it comes to wives, we men haven’t learned much in 6,000 years!

The First Marital Squabble

We find the first marital squabble in history in the 3rd chapter of Genesis. What? You don’t believe me!? Without reviewing all of the serpent, fruit, sin parts of the account, here’s the Scripture. We find it in Genesis 3:12, “The man replied [to God], “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” You don’t think Adam got an earful from Eve for the next 900 years!

Susan: Stan, why was our debit card declined at Kroger’s? Do you have any idea what I had to go through to pay for OUR groceries?

Stan: Well, Dear, you need to understand. Everyone at work uses Bluetooth headphones, so I had to buy a pair. And Apple has the best, so I had to get an iPhone to work with my AirPods, and then there were some options I needed since I had an iPhone 11 Pro. It wasn’t my fault!”

We will just let Stan and Susan work through their misunderstanding, while we go back to Adam.

Vandalizing God’s Image

Adam was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). However, when Adam sinned, the impact was far more significant than a married couple’s argument; the image of God was vandalized by sin. So, for the next 6,000 years, not a single descendent of Adam saw what the sinless image of God looked like, not one! That is, not until Jesus (1 Peter 2:22).

It’s not acceptable what people did from the time of Adam up to the time of Jesus – creating idols, sacrificing children, mutilating themselves, marinating in every imaginable sin. Humanity’s lust for sin knows no bounds; still, until Jesus, no one observed how a sinless person behaved (1 Corinthians 13:12).

On rare occasions, a person would turn to God, but the memory of the one true God coming drifted into the mist, no longer remembering Adam’s account of “Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. (Genesis 3:8)” Yes, Enoch pleased God (Hebrews 11:5). Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:9), and Abraham was called God’s friend (James 2:23). Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph acted in faith in God (Hebrews 11:20-22). I could name others, but it would be a short list compared to the full genealogy of Adam.

Jesus Steps Into the History of Humanity

When, after millennia, Jesus, the Son of God in the flesh (John 1:14), stepped into the history of humanity, people didn’t know what to think of Him. Even His cousin, John the Baptist struggled (Luke 7:19). Christ’s apostles, too, struggled with the sinless Son of Man: 

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he [Jesus] cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? – Mark 8:14-17

So, the next time you or I read, see, or hear of a person doing something profoundly awful, we should ask ourselves, “I wonder if anyone demonstrated Jesus to that person?” In the constant tug-of-war between nurture and nature, we need to remember that everyone is born with a sin-nature; none is righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). 

If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then don’t hold that in. Let it out! Allow the lost to see Jesus in you. Let the whole world know that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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Make No Provision For Sin

Leave a Comment / Forgiveness, Jesus, Sin / By
party

Today is the second day of Lent. I won’t be writing devotionals specifically related to Lent since I’m sure your church has provided you with literature to guide your church through Lent 2020. However, today, I do want to touch on an aspect of Lent.

Lent gives us a specific time to set aside the noise of life and to meditate upon what our Lord did for us on the Cross. Of course, the purpose of Lent is not to have us live in sadness and despair. Rather, Lent realigns us to the powerful work of our Savior, Jesus, and our hope in Him, and of our resurrection, and that day when every tear will be dried (Rev. 21:3).

Make No Provision For Sin

Today’s Scripture contains an important reminder and a little truth, which we will zero in on. Romans 13:11-14: Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Notice at the end of this passage, we find “make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Think about how your past sins entrapped you. Let’s pick lasciviousness.

An Example

Lasciviousness means: inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd behavior. This manner of expression is evidenced in many college parties and university clubs. However, lustfulness is hardly limited to young people, for we find this condition of the heart spilling out in nearly all social occasions from people trapped by this deadly sin.

There is an aspect of this sin from which we all can learn and bolster our righteousness. Notice that Paul wrote, “make no provision.” Now I am going to step on some people’s toes. Sorry, but this truth is essential.

How do we make provisions for lasciviousness? Well, men and women buying condoms before attending a social gathering is a way to prepare. Men are infamous for bringing a “wingman” to parties with the intent of corralling a woman with the purpose of taking her to bed. There’s an article about this in GQ.

There have been several scientific studies that show women dress more provocatively just before their period. One such article is from the American Psychological Association, and another article on this subject is in Live Science.

The above examples are clear preparations for sin. Of course, nearly all sin is first prepared for in our thought-life, usually through “baby steps.” Each step should warn us that we are approaching our entrapment in sin. Don’t do it! Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for sin.

The enemy of God is always looking for ways to trip up Christians to destroy their testimonies. Be on your guard.

Photo credit: william couch on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND

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A Returned Man

Leave a Comment / Forgiveness, Jesus, Sin / By

Occasionally, I stray into other aspects of Christianity, however, my heart’s desire is to focus on Jesus. To glorify our Savior, to help the lost find Him, and the saved to walk closer to Him. The mission statement for this site is “Finding Christ in Christianity.” For no matter what the topic is, it’s all about Jesus.

So, today, let’s take a moment and consider Jesus healing a leper. This account is found in three of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here’s the passage from Matthew 8:2-3:

And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Leprosy Was An Example Of Sin

Leprosy was a “type” for sin: it was loathsome, spreading, incurable, and the Israelites were to avoid lepers – just like sin. Yet Jesus, seeing the leper’s faith, reached into his condition, into “sin”, and touched the man; saved that man. Jesus made the leper clean.

The leper was a Jew. We can be confident of this because God’s Word points out explicitly the few times Jesus healed people outside of Jacob’s progeny. So from this account of the leper, we know that Jesus is willing to touch those that have been grafted into the vine of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus will reach into a Christian’s life, touch them, and cleanse them of their leprosy, their sin.

You may have memorized 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So now think of this healed leper when you pray, asking Jesus to reach in and touch sin, the sin that’s in you. Your desire is not only to be delivered from your sin but to be cleansed from all your unrighteousness. And Jesus will do this, if you are willing to change your life.

Jesus Returned The Man

You see, Jesus didn’t just remove that man’s leprosy, He returned that leper back to his fellow Israelites. The cleansed man could once again worship, celebrate, and fully participate with his Jewish brothers and sisters. This is what Jesus expects of us when He forgives our sin. We are to return to our brothers and sisters in Christ, to our local church, to submit to the leadership Christ has provided us.

Rest in Jesus. Don’t sin, but if you do sin, remember Jesus is our advocate. You can take comfort in these words of Jesus in John 6:39, And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

Photo by Kristina Paparo on Unsplash

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Envy

Leave a Comment / Catholics, God, Sin / By
person cutting paper that has the word envy printed on it

Our world has lost all respect for the things of God. From casual sex to envy, these and more are free from our society’s concerns. What kids espoused in the 1960s, “Free Love,” and transcendental meditation, has now thrown Godliness into the trash heap of history and has filled the resulting vacuum with lies, Godless rhetoric, and content-free promises.

Today, I was on one of my go-to sites for Bible study when I saw the following advertisement:

One of the Seven Deadly Sins

 Within Catholicism, envy, a synonym for coveting, is one of the Seven deadly sins. And within all of Christendom, envy is denounced because it is specifically called out in the Ten Commandments:

Exodus 20:17 – “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

It’s not shocking to me that the kids of the greatest generation have cast off the Godly constraints that allowed the one true God to bless America, for that is the way rich kids behave who’s parents worked their way out of poverty. 

Kids of the Greatest Generation

Too much, too soon, too easily, are the hallmarks of the nouveau riche. For those of us that still believe that there’s a heaven to gain and a hell to shun, that have placed our faith in the resurrected Son of the living God, whose hope lies not in this world and its accolades but in the glory of heaven which has no sun for the glory of God is its light for us, we are to be holy for God is holy. 

For us that are in Christ Jesus, by faith children of God, to casually receive and allow worldly sins which the enemy of God uses to damn those made in God’s image, to allow those sins to permeate our lives, now that is just unacceptable and needful of repentance.

Whew. I hope you recognize my passionate plea as one grounded in love and my desire for all of us to have a deeper life with Jesus. Amen.  

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

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We Must Not Acquiesce

Leave a Comment / Jesus, Sin / By
a picture of a cat

Some of you may know that I have a cat named Max. My wife was the one that decided we needed to get a cat, so she got two. That’s just how she’s wired. For all I know, she thought she’d run into someone on the way home that needed a cat so she could say, “Hey, I’ve got an extra. You can choose the one you want!”

Well, that didn’t happen. She made it all the way home with two cats, and they’ve been mooching off of me ever since. And the one cat, Max, turned out to be a dog-cat. He acts just like a dog, but with that, “I thinking I’ll kill my master, now.” twist. He just tried that, but as you can see, I won. 🙂 He’s okay, but I think he’s already looking for his next chance.

I think we all have a little “Max” in us, not the killing part, but the turn-on-a-dime thing. We can have a morning devotional, get to work without spilling coffee (or tea) on us. We can be firing on all cylinders all day at work. Leaving work, we get our earbuds in, crank up our after work P&W (praise and worship), and then for a reason that not another person on planet Earth could detect, the world has pushed our buttons. And then we feel the disappointment.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. – 1 John 2:1 

What we must never do is to give up the fight. We must not acquiesce for we have an advocate, Jesus Christ!

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Cockle Burrs

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cockle burrs

Recently, my wife and I met with her best friend from high school. My wife’s friend lives on a farm, so she has all manner of animals, one of which is a large airedale that lives outdoors.

When this large dog came lumbering up to us, we could see that cockle burrs filled her fur. It was challenging to find a place to pet the beast without tearing our flesh! It seems the dog had decided to play in the thickets. 

Pulling Cockle Burrs

As we talked, my wife’s friend meticulously pulled each burr from the dog’s fur. Watching her, I realized that the dog required help, for the animal was unable to remove these painful burrs herself.

That reminded me of Galatians 6:1 (NLT):
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 

There may be times when we have a sin with which we cannot overcome without the help of a Christian brother or sister. Other times we may be that brother or sister that a fellow Christian needs to overcome their sin.

If you’re in a situation like the one I just described, remember to “be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”

Photo credit: mrd00dman on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC

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Love Covers

Leave a Comment / love, Sin / By
woman holding a paper heart

1 Peter 4:8 (ESV) Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

To “cover,” in Hebrew, often means to “forgive,” the idea being that of an offensive object which you bury or hide by putting something else over it; see, for example, see Psalm 32:1 and Psalm 85:2.

I pray you have a blessed day!

Shekinah Clothes

1 Comment / Jesus, Salvation, Sin / By

I saw on one of the news sites a beautiful picture of the Queen of England. She wore a fancy, yet understated hat, a stunning dress, shoes, and jewelry (the real thing). I rarely pay any attention to this stuff but wife is awed by the Queen so I thought I’d look at that picture of her.

That rabbit trail led me to the Vladimir Tiara, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth’s. Duchess Vladimir from the Romanov dynasty commissioned the tiara. There’s a fascinating article about the intrigue involved in getting the tiara out of Russia. If you’re interested, you can read about that spy story here: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/jewelry-and-watches/a27633284/queen-elizabeth-vladimir-tiara-romanov-jewels/

What I’d like us to consider today is this: regardless of whether people wear nothing more than a necklace or dress like the Queen of England, all clothes testify of humanity’s sin and separation from God.

We read in Genesis 3:21 (ESV), “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Why? Because Adam and Eve had sinned and lost the glory of God that had clothed them.

In all of Queen Elizabeth’s finery, she still is testifying to the world of what was lost due to sin.

Now, the world has done an excellent job of trying to hide this testimony through myriad uniforms such as suits & ties, blue jeans & cowboy boots, military uniforms, and so on. All are a magicians trick; hide things in plain sight.

No, I am not advocating that we give up wearing clothes. Please, no! And besides, nothing would be accomplished by that. Sin has already stripped humanity of the Shekinah glory that was our covering.

So, when you notice someone that is “put together,” as my wife would say, remember that the “put together” person is reminding the world that we all need Jesus, the only true Savior.

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

A good ending to your story

Leave a Comment / Sin, Victory / By

There’s an old sermon that, no doubt, has been preached by hundreds of preachers. It asks the question, “What have you done with your dash?” Of course, the preacher is referring to the dash that will be on your tombstone, the time separating your birth date from your death date.

Today, I’d like us to consider our arc instead of our dash. There are six main arcs in storytelling, as identified by an A.I. program. These six arcs were derived from the analysis of nearly 2,000 works of fiction and what happened to the protagonist.

The arcs are.
1. Rags to Riches (rise)
2. Riches to Rags (fall)
3. Man in a Hole (fall then rise)
4. Icarus (rise then fall)
5. Cinderella (rise then fall then rise)
6. Oedipus (fall then rise then fall)

These six story arcs for fiction exist because they have been distilled from the actual lives of people. We may be fully committed to Jesus and still live an Icarus life. We may have great successes early in our lives and then lose it all during the later years, before we leave this Earth. That does not mean we failed God.

On the other hand, if our Icarus life is a moral one where we lived for Jesus early in our lives but then became complacent or bitter in our later years, then we need to switch stories. We need to jump from our arc to the Man in a Hole or Cinderella arc. With the help of Jesus, we can do that! And, that’s my point for this devotional. We are not “locked in” to a disastrous life of immoral addiction. And, yes, I’m addressing Christians.

We were all conceived in sin (Psalms 51:5). However, a severe problem Christians have is that many have held onto “pet” sins after they were born again. If, as Christians, we keep hidden sins, if we allow addictions to remain in us, if we long for the world, then we are destined to have a bad ending to our story. Sin is death, and it kills whatever it enters.  

I’m not writing about sins that are easily purged. I’m writing about sins that we’ve claimed 1 John 1:9 hundreds of times yet, still, those sins keep coming back.

Now here’s the Good News!

If we change, Jesus will change the ending of our story.  If we pray a plea like Psalms 51:10 (ESV), “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” or 1 John 1:9 (ESV), “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And, we apply self-control and disciple to our lives our Lord will change us, and we will have victory over those sins.

We all want a good ending to our story, and no one wants that more than Jesus. Seek Him. Ask Him. Obey Him. And your arc will be beautiful.

Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash

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